Planograph co



N. CRANE.

MOTOR SLEIGH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13.1917.

` Patented July s, 1919,

N. CRANE.

MOTOR SLEIGH. APPLlcATxoN FILED lum/13.19171 1 ,308,937 Patented July 8, 1919.

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ings of sleigh, sled,

i UNITED sTAiEs PATENT NEWTON cRANnor BOSTON, ivuissncHUsii'rrs.` f i ivio'roR-sLnIGH. i

Application filed July 13, 1917. Serial No. 180,312.

To all rwhom t may concern Be it known that JI, `NEWTON vcitizen of the United States, Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofy .Massachusetts have invented new and useful Improvements in 'MotorlSleighs of which the following is a specification.

.The present invention relateslto sleighs, sleds, and vehicles of like* nature of which the supporting base is composed of runners intended for travel over ground covered with snow and ice, or over the frozen surface of bodies of water. The object of the invention hereinafter claimed is to provide runners especially useful for sleighs having the qualities of extreme rigidity to resist lateral distortion, with flexibility and resilience in the support which is afforded by such runners to the body of the sleigh. The novel features in which the invention particularly consist appear from the following detailed description in connection with the drawings showing one embodimenty of such invention, and the claims appended to this specification, to which reference is directed. In the following description and claims I have referred to the'vehicle to which the invention is applied as a sleigh intending to include within the definition of'that term as used all vehicles ofwhatever nature and description which are provided with run# ners, thus including all such vehicles or carriers of persons or goods which may be included within the -ordinarily accepted meanor Sledge, and invention to any CRANE,r a residing vat without intent to limit the particular type' of vehicle having runners.

In the drawings Figure l is a side elevation of a motor sleigh embodying my invention. y

F ig. 2 is a front elevation of the forward end ofthe'same with parts of the runners broken away and shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the runners and driving gear of the sleigh,the same being represented as though 'the body were re-x moved.

y Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view of one of the connections consisting of a combination knuckle and hinge by which the forward runners are connected to the frame of the sleigh.

Fig. 5 is a plan view partly in section of a detail of the driving mechanism.

Figj is a sectional viewvin detail off the Y mounting' for one. of the trundle rolls or Specificationl of Letters Patent.

Patented July s, 1919.

wheels which is provided for supporting` the i sleigh on bare ground.

The e same reference charactersV indicate the same parts inA all the figures. 'Y In Fig. 1 a sleigh body is represented conventionally, lO'being the floor of such body and K 11 a seat for persons occupying thev same.,l The runners are shown at 12-12, which are the forward runners, and 121-13 the rear runners. In the .combinationVV here shown all of the four runners are essentially alike and they embody the feature of the invention which I claim herein. Each runner is composed of Vtwo principal parts, namely,

theV body or bottom or Vbase member, to

which the distinguishing numerals 12 and 13 have been applied and the superstructure 14, the latter being van arched orV bowed spring secured at its ends to the baseV member of the runner and adapted to lbeloonnected at a point nea-r its center tothe sleigh body. The arched'upper member is of tough springy material, preferably steel, of a thickness, having regard' also to its width,

onricn.

inproportion to the load which it is* r'ei quired to bear and' to the extent of yield which is required or perinittedhundery such load. At the same time'suchspring is relatively wide as appears from Figs. 2 and 3 whereby it has great lateral stiffness amounting. practically to rigidity in thatdirection, from which it results that the :forces and shocks encountered in the Vordinary and expected use of the sleigh have no efect in twisting or displacing or Votherwise distort-Y ing the runner.

The runner base member is :also of relatively 'great width,.substantially the same width as the spring, for the double purpose of providing an extended bearing surface and of adding to the lateral rigidity ofthe entire runner structure. The extended bearing area of course reduces the load Vper unit of surface of the runner toa very low iigure whereby the sleigh with its load will be supported upon even light snow without sink-A ing to any material extentVV therein. The runner Aconstructed *essentiallyV as above described is exceedingly light, perfectly rigid to allA practical intents and purposes laterally and at the same time gives ayielding spring support tothe sleighbody.VV "It isv ability to yield vertically vis an entirelynew feature in sleigh ruimer construction.

The runner bases are bent up at their forward ends as shown in Fig. 1 for the obvious purpose of riding over hills and humps in the surface of the snow. This part of the runner is preferably of wood, but it may be ofl any other material having sufficient strength and toughness to withstand the shocks and wear to which such a runner will be subjected in service.

I wish to emphasize and call particular attention to the characteristics of the runner hereinbefore described, especially its -extreme lightness and its resilience. Not only is the superstructure yielding and resilient, but the base, being of tough springy wood, or equivalent material, is also resilient, besides being light in weight. The quality of resilience of course absorbs the shocks of passing over rough'surfaces, the superstructure first absorbing the shock when the runner encounters a-lump, ridge, or humniock of ice or frozen snow, and the Lbase member itself yielding when passing over suoli a lump, particularly when its middle part between the points of connection with the superstructure rests on the lump. And the quality of light weight is of the utmost im portance in a motor sleigh, of which one of the prime essentials is that the runners should'rest as nearly as possible on the surface of the snow', and should not sink down to any avoidable extent. My runner, being both light and also 4long and wide, will not sink of its own weight toany appreciableV degree even in the lightest snow, and even when bearing its part of the load caused by the sleigh body and the occupants thereof, will not sink materially. rlhe above described qualities are obtainable in a runner of which the base is of wood and the superstructure of spring steel, when the thickness of the former is one inch or less and of the latter one-half inch or less.

In order to mount the runners on the sleigh .the bowed spring portion on each is provided with an eye 15, formed conveniently out of a strap bent so as Vto pro vide :a cylindrical eye and also flanges 16 which rest against and are riveted or welded or otherwise secured vto the bowed spring. The rear springY is attached by this eye to a rear axle 17, orA axle studs, which -axle' or studs maybe connected with the body by stra-ps 18 as shown in Fig. 1, and between which and the body may be also placed springs 19 for additional cushioning` effect, but these parts last 4described may be omitted if desired and the body supported directly on the axle. Since the lateral rigidity of the'runner with respect to the sleigh body depends in part on the ability of the connecti-ngmeans between the runner and body to prevent relative lateral angular motion,I

relation f between the length of the eye, or at least the distance between the bearing ends of the eye, or its equivalent, on the axle or pivot should be a considerable amount, preferably as great as the width of the bowed spring superstructure, or even greater. As here shown the length of the eye is equal to the width of the superstructure. Provided substantially this the width of the runner and the distance between the ends of its bearing on the axle pivot exists, the eye may be made otherwise than as sleeve, and may even consist of separated straps Qr rings if desired.

Each of the forward runners is connected by a hinge pintle V20 with a knuckle 21,

shown Vin detail in Fig. il, which has an upright shank y22 ln'iounrted to turn in a. bearing 23 which is attached to an extension 24 from the forward end of the body; :and to the upper end of saidfshank above the bearing is fixed the hub 25 of an arm 26. These arms 26 of the two forward runners areboth connected to ya cross connecting trod 27 and the latter is operatively connected with a steering wheel 28 :and the steering post 29 in a manner such that it may be shifted tof one side or the other by rotation of the wheel in a similar manner to thatinwhich the lforward wheels cfa motor car are commonly turned by the steering 4wheelof the car. The whole steering Vgear thus above described :is essentially the same as the .common steering gear of motor cars@ Anyother appara-tus for turning the forward runners sidewise in order to steer the sleigh may lbeprovided if desired. The feature which intend to set forth here is that means ane provided by which the driver Aof the sleigh is able at will to change the direction in which the forward a continuous l runners point, and thus steer the sleigh. 1 v

contemplate also mounting the rear runners in the same manner, or in any lother manner permitting them to Iturn laterally, and connecting them with the steering gear so that they `may be turned at lthe same time with, but oppositely to, the forward runners.

A motor isindicated as a whole at 30. Any of the motors already known and on the market may be used. It may be assumed that this motor is of the internal combustion type having -t-wo cylinders containing` pistons which drive a rotary Vera-nk shaft 31; but this aspect of the inventionv is not limited either to an internal `combustionmotor or to a motor having two .cylinders rather than any other number of cylinders, or to a reciprocating engine as distinguished from other typesof engine. This motor is mounted upon a cradle consisting of frame mem bers 32, 33, and 't'supported by the parts of the body frame which-carry the knuckle bearings for the forward runners. rlihe upper part ofthe motoris braced by a tie rod 35 connected at its opposite ends byball and socket joints to the motor andto kthe dash board 36 of the sleigh body, respectively.

The cradle frame supports also a rod 87 1n rear of the motorA on which is hung bodily a pair of arms 38, 38 carrying a shaft 39 on which is mounted the driver or propeller of the sleigh; said driver or propeller comprising a drum or a pair of drums40 having spikes or studs 4l projecting from their peripheriesk and being associa-ted with a sprocket wheel 42. Said `driver is actuated by a chain and sprocket power transmission consisting of a sprocket 43, on the motor shaft, a chain 44 ypassing around said sprocket and also around the sprocket 45 on theshaft 37 a sprocket 46on shaft 37, a chain 47 passing around sprocket 46 and around a sprocket 48 on a pivot pin 49 cai'- ried by the arms 38, and a sprocket 50 connected to the sprocket 48 vwhich drives a chain 51 passing around the sprocket wheel 42. Thus the propellingmember is driven from the motor by three chains and two pairs of sprockets. The power transmission thus constituted is a step down transmission by reason of the fact that the vdriving sprocket Yfor each chain is smaller-than the sprocket whichis driven by the chain, and also that of each two connecting sprockets 45, 46 and 48, 49, the one which is driven by a chain is larger than the -one which drives the next chain; that is 45 is larger than 46 and 48 is rvlarger than 49; whereby great power is applied'by the propeller. I prefer to provide meansv for disconnecting the driver from the motor to the propeller, and for that purpose I have provided and arranged a breakin the y.transmission between the sprockets 45 and 46, as indicated in Fig. 5. There is a clutch or coupling 52 between these sprockets, and the sprocket 45 is so mounted that it can be shifted axially so as to couple oruncouple this clutch. A shipper fork 53 is engaged with a groove54 in the `hub of sprocket 45 and is connected with a suitable operatingmeans, such'as a pedal, handle, or'the like, accessible tothe driverof the sleigh. -I have no t illustrated herein the operating means` for this shipper because any mechanism capable of operating the same in the manner above indicated may be provided by the designer.

,A feature of; prime importanceto which I here call particular attention,..although I- do not claim the same herein, resides inthe mode of mounting. thepropeller and connecting it with the sleigh body. Several Vadvantages result from this Inode of iconnection, among which is that the `propeller' is able to sink into soft snowV until it reaches abottomjrm enough to sustain the thrust which will push the sleigh ahead.` The pivoted armI carrying thef propeller is much longer than the vertical distance betweenthe sleigh body and the runner base, wherei fore it is'possible for the propeller to sink considerably below the level on which the runners are supported. Thereby if it'should happen that the snow which supports the sleigh is too light and soft to sustain the thrust of the propeller,the latter may sink and burrow into the snow while revolving until it has packed the snow firmly enough to sustain the propelling thrust, or even to the solid ground, or to ice and frozen snow beneaththe top layer of light snow. The spikes 41 on the propeller are provided in such number and dimensions as to bite into packed or frozen snow, or the ground suiiciently'to push the sleigh ahead against the greatest frictional resistance encountered, even that of bare ground.

Second, the propeller delivers its thrust to the sleigh body through the shaft 37 whichl is -near the forward end of the sleigh and is also wellabove the point at which the propeller thrusts against the ground.

Thereby the driving force is exerted forwardly and upwardly upon the forward part of the sleigh, withl the resulting Vtendency `to lift the forwardrrunners,preventing them from becoming buried in soft snow and helping them to rise over such obstructions as snow drifts or Vlumps and ridges of f ice and snow, and to faces.

Third, the pivot about which thev propeller carrying. arm` swings is coincident with Yone ofthe axes of the powertransmission, and the other axes ofl this transtravel up s sloping surmission are carried by said arm, wherefore Y the power transmission means imposes no limit tothe range of swing of the propeller, the only limits being imposed by the Aframe of the sleigh itself.V 'Y

Another feature kof the inventionconsists in vwheels ortrundle rolls 55 .which Ihave provided in connection with the runners to support the sleigh when it becomes desir; able, by reason of long stretches of bare ground, to take the (weight of the sleigh from the runner bases. I have shown such trundle rolls arranged in pairs, and have mounted two pairs of'such rolls on each of the runners, nearvthe front andY rear ends, respectively, thereof. As here shown allof the rolls are alike anda description of .one

will suflice for all. The two wheels of each ,Y

pair are mountedon the .pivotfends' lof a shaft` 56, the central part of which is offset' and passes through-a Vchair 57suitably secured to the runner. Said voffset `part'of the, shaft has a transverse hole vand the chair` has a socketadapted to receivea Cotter piny 58. The position,V of the hole infthe shaft is such that thercotter pin may pass through it when the shaft is turned soasfeither to hold the wheels elevated above the runner base as shown in Figs. 1v and Q ,.Or'when turned into the positionwshown in'. Fig. 6

and by the dotted lines 55a in Fig. 1, when the wheels project below the runner base. Thus it is a simple matter' when the sleigh, after being driven over snow-covered ground arrives at a place, where the ground is bare, as intraveling from theopen country to a town having little or no snow. on itsv streets7 to remove the cotter pins 58 of thefseveral wheels, reverse the position of the latter, and reinsert the cotter pins; and to reverse this proceeding upon reaching a stretch of snow-covered ground. Various modifications in this feature of the invention may be made, the essential thing being the provision of rolls or wheels associated with the sleigh in such `manner that they can be either lowered to support the sleigh on the ground, or raised to allow the runners to support the sleigh; such wheels being in permanent association with the sleigh; either with the runners as shown or with some other part of the sleigh, so that they can be put readily into and out of action.

The term ground where used without qualification in the following claims is not limited in mea-ningto the solid earth but is intended to include both the solid earth or ground and the covering of snow or ice on the ground, and also the frozen surface of a body of water. In other words this term means the surface or substance on which the runners rest7 and against which the propelling member of the sleigh exerts its thrust, whether the same is snow or ice or isy the solid earth itself.

What I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is: 1 Y

l. In a motor sleigh the combination with a sleigh body, motor, and propelling means, of runners .which are resilient and: light in weight, comprising each a base member and an upwardly bowed relatively thin and wide spring member connected atf its ends to said base member and at an intermediate point to said' body. i

2. In a motorsleigh'in combination with a body and a motor and propelling means carried by said body, of runners having wide base portions adapted'to rest on the snow andhaving upper portions connected to said base member and tothe sleigh body, which are resilient in a vertical direction andV rigid laterally. i

3. A sleigh runner comprising a broad base member and a spring superstructure constructed of wider thin resilient material:

secured immovably at its ends to the runner base, its

constructed of wide thin resilient material length between points of attachment being greater than the distancev in a, straight line between said points, whereby secured rigidly at its ends throughout the entire width thereof to the ruimer base, its length between points of attachmentl being greater than the distance in a straight line betweensaid points, whereby its middle portion is upwardly bowed, therelatively great width of said superstructure giving the runner substantial rigidity laterally.

. 5. A sleigh runner comprising essentially two members'one of which is a base member and the other anv arched spring superstructure fixed immovably4 at its Vopposite end portions to the base member and having means at an intermediate point for attachment to a sleigh, said members beingpythin for lightness and resilience, and wide for securing lateral stiffness and extended bearing areaof thebase member on the ground.

6. A sleigh runner comprising a base member formed as a long wide thin strip of tough' material having a width greater than five inches and a thickness less lthan one inch, and an upwardly bowed spring superstructure connected at it sends to said base member and having means at an intermediate point for connection to a sleigh body, said ysuperstructure being free to bend between said intermediate point and veach of saidk points of attachment. Y

7. A sleigh runner comprising' a base member of tough springy vmateral having width and: length sulicientto.y rest, and support a substantial load, on light snow without sinking down materially, and being thin enough to spring when bearing on uneven ground, a spring superstructure of substantially the same width assaid base member attached at' its ends to the latter and bowed upwardly between said points of attachment, and an eye for connecting the runner` toa sleigh secured to saidsuperstructureat an elevated pointV thereof, lthe distance between the bearing ends of said eye being substantially as great asthe, width of the superstructure. l

8. A sleigh runner comprisingr a base member having length and width sufficient to vProvide an extended bearing areal and having a thickness which is but a small tion ofl its width, and a superstructure of thin spring stock formed as aflat strip having a width greatly exceedingdts thickness, and being securedat itsA ends to vsaid base member in a rigid manner preventing tilting or sliding of. such ends in any direction with respect to the base member, the length ofv said superstructure being greater than 9. A sleigh runner comprising a. base member having length and width sufficient to provide an extended bearing area and having a thickness which is but a small fraction, of its width, and a superstructure of thin spring stock formed as a flat strip having a width greatly exceeding its thickness, and being secured at its ends to said base member in a rigid manner preventing tilting or sliding of such ends in any direction with respect to the base member, the length of said superstructure being greater than the distance between the points at which its CupiesN of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the ends are attached te the base member, whereby it is upwardly bowed, and attaching means on said upwardly bowed partI for connecting the same witha Vehicle body; the

eXtreme limits of said attaching means being substantially coextensive with the width NEWTON CRANE.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

